DYI Town and Roadway for Matchbox Cars

 My little 2 year old nephew loves matchbox cars. Store bought raceways are soo expensive and on a fixed income sometimes you just have to come up with an innovative way to make things fun and creative. My nephew thought this was the best thing since sliced butter. We would sit for house playing cars and riding them up and down the inclines on the bridges.
Supplies:

• Glue gun (I use the large gun and large glue sticks)
• Glue sticks
• 5 Foam boards 
• Acrylic paint
• Popsicle sticks (large bag)
• Soda, milk lids for the signs
• A utility knife
• Artificial leaves for trees
• Twigs (6-7)
• Heavy duty tape
• Clear contact paper
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Paint brushes
• Compass
• Marbleized contact paper for the parking lots and sidewalks

I took some tires off of some broken cars and used them for the auto shop. I thought it made a nice touch.

Directions: Begin by gluing and taping 2 foam boards together to use as the base. Once you glue them together, design how you want you road to be. I forgot to measure the road but I measured a matchbox car and then allowed an extra 1/4 of a inch so that the car could ride on the road. Paint the road in black acrylic paint and after it thoroughly dries cover the entire board in clear contact paper. This will help the track to last longer, extend the useage for your child and keep the paint from messing up.

I apologize for not taking step by step pictures. I forgot and it was already done when I realized I should have added it to the website. 

The tunnels were made out of foam board and then I placed popsicle sticks on top with the glue gun thus making it very sturdy. My nephew kind of destroyed the first one when he leaned on the tunnel to stand up---so I knew I had to come up with something more sturdy. I made all the houses and buildings out of foam board and then glued popsicle sticks over to help make them very sturdy. You can paint your buildings any color you wish. I made Nan's Sweet Shop, An auto/tire shop, a gas station etc...

One thing that I did---my little nephew would get very agitated when the cars wouldn't stay in the lanes so I measure a 1/4 inch foam board and glued them all the way around each roadway. Once I completed that I added popsicle sticks to help make it sturdy. By doing this it helped keep the cars in their lanes and on the road. The yellow strips in the middle of the road are thin popsicle sticks that I split and painted yellow.

ENJOY!!

  

Painted Rocks

Every spring I like to plant a garden and this year was no exception. One day my daughter and I were in a mood to do a craft and didn't have money to go a buy things so we decided to paint some rocks. Two rocks became ten and before we knew it people were asking us to make some for their gardens too. 

It's a fun simple craft and you can use rocks for many things besides sprucing up a garden. They can be doorstoppers, paper weights, gifts, decorations etc...

Supplies:

• Rocks (all sizes) 
• Guesso
• Acrylic paints (various colors)
• Spray finishing gloss
• Cardboard
• A mixing tray
• Pencil
• Various sized paint brushes
• Small fan (to speed up the drying process)

Directions:

1. Once you choose your rocks, scrub them clean with a dish scrubber and a mixture of dish soap and bleach for disinfecting. 
2. Dry them on a drying mat, an old towel or even a few pieces of paper towels. 
3. Coat rocks with Guesso. Guesso helps the paint to adhere and stick better. 
4. Once the guesso is completely dry you can draw your design onto the rock.
5. Now you are ready to begin painting. Paint the rock at least 3 coats of paint. Allow each layer to dry before painting the next. My daughter always rushes this process and thinks she can do just one coat but what happens is the rocks fade quickly and the paint does not hold up.
6. When you are completely done painting spray the rock with clear gloss spray from the hardware dept. You can get a big can for under 4.00 but purchae in the hardware department in places such as Walmart. The craft store will charge more.

Here are some of the rocks we painted. They make great decorative rocks for a garden and gifts too.